Some things change
by dukefan01
Summary: Bo is calling home to check in with the family from his time on the NASCAR circuit and is thinking about how things have changed since he left home. Takes place after season 7 but before the 1997 movie.


"Hey ya'll I'll be right back." Bo said, clapping his crew chief on the shoulder as he turned toward the office.

"Everything alright Bo?" he called after him. Bo nodded and turned around so the man could see him hold his hand like a telephone. The man nodded in understanding as Bo opened the office door and closed it behind him. He walked over to the desk and sat down in front of the phone, staring at it as if it would bite him if he reached for it. He had to call back to the farm, knowing his uncle would be rather upset if he didn't.

Ever since Bo was a little kid he used to tell anyone who would listen about how he would on day be a racecar driver on the NASCAR circuit. Many people would humor him by nodding and saying 'That's good Bo', but never really thinking Bo would do it. Most assumed he would grow out of it and realize it would be far too difficult and unrealistic for him to go for a racing career. As Bo grew he started racing around the county, but all it did was increase his desire to try for NASCAR.

Bo knew he owed his entire start to the complete happenstance that Cale Yarborough had chosen a track around Hazzard County to test out his new turbocharger. Had Bo and Luke not met and befriended him, Bo wasn't sure he would ever made it as far as he did. Cale not only gave Bo and Luke their first experience on the NASCAR circuit as members of his pit crew in the race he had been training for, but when Bo and Luke had finally gathered enough courage to make the attempt to enter the circuit a few years later it was Cale who got them hired as drivers. Bo and Luke had always wanted to be on the circuit, but the goals that they had there were not the same. Bo loved to drive and that was the only thing he wanted to do. While Luke liked driving too he wanted to put together a winning engine. The two made an amazing team but it wasn't to last. After a year the two had started to feel homesick when they got a call from Vance and Coy that they would be needing to leave the farm. Making a decision, the two decided to return to Hazzard.

Yet Bo still wanted to race on the circuit. A few times he would get some calls about temporary work. Testing engines, standing in as a back up driver, racing for a few teams that needed a hand. Bo jumped on each one that he got, figuring it would allow him to live his dream just a little longer while also getting some money to help around the farm. His family surprised him when he came from from a particularly long trip when he saw them all sitting around the picnic table. They had told Bo they needed to talk as a family. Bo had been expecting them to say that he was not going to be taking any more of those sporadic jobs, but instead Jesse surprised him by telling him he wanted Bo to return to the circuit for good. Bo had refused at first, saying he was needed on the farm, but Luke and Daisy threw in their lot with Jesse, saying it was obvious Bo wanted to go back to racing for the circuit. Bo knew the moment the three of them ganged up on him that he would be leaving the farm again. He made a few phone calls, packed a bag, and was ready to set out. However this time was harder than the first time Bo had left. He assumed it was because Luke had been with him the first time. In every idea Bo had about his future Luke had been right beside him the entire time, so he never even imagined a future where he would be going off on his own.

Things had changed quickly after Bo had left, but he tried to keep as busy as possible. He still woke up at dawn every day, but instead of doing chores around the farm he was checking over his car. He still worked long hours and went to the bar for a beer when the day was over but instead of going with Luke to the Boar's Nest to get a watered down beer from Daisy, he wen with his pit crew to some local bar to get a legit beer from a strange waitress. He still raced around every day but instead of it being on dirt tracks or being chased by the county sheriff it was on an official track. He still said grace before dinner each night but instead of going to a farm house filled with his families amazing cooking it was whatever food Bo could scrape together for himself. He still had dates on Saturday night but instead of it being a pretty girl whose family Bo had known since childhood it was a strange woman he met only hours before. Monthly bills were still a part of his life but instead of the mortgage payment being the most stressful and eventful day of the month, paying his rent was hardly something he noticed being done. Things sure had changed since he left.

Bo called home every day when he first left. However things started happening fast and the daily calls fell away to weekly calls, and now Bo calls when he can. Each time he called home he was informed of news for family and friends alike. People Bo had known were also changing. People started getting married, having kids, moving around, getting new jobs, and overall going on with life. Daisy hadn't stayed on the farm much longer after Bo had left. She had decided that since Bo was perusing his life's dream she would go after hers. She had always wanted to be a song writer, but over the last few years she had been enjoying her moonlighting job as a journalist. She had made the decision to go to college for an English degree. After her first semester she had a change of heart, falling in love with her ecology class and directing herself toward that. Bo couldn't be prouder, knowing no Duke had ever been able to go to college and get any type of degree. From what Bo heard though Ecology wasn't the only thing Daisy had fallen for either. Daisy had told him about a man named L.D. who she was getting serious with. Bo had always figured her and Enos may one day get married, especially after they almost had a few years ago, but figured maybe they were just too good of friends to ever take that step in the end. Enos hadn't hung around to wait in Hazzard either though. He got offered a promotion to be a detective in L.A. an left just a few months after Daisy had. Bo wasn't surprised in the least.

Luke had hung around the farm for a while longer, not having any desire to go anywhere. At least that was until a guy he knew from the marines called. He was going to be a smoke jumper for the US Forest Service. Luke decided to go with him, but not before ensuring that Vance, Coy, and Jeb would be able to help Jesse around the farm. Currently he was out in Montana. Bo was a little envious of how easily Luke had adjusted to leaving the farm and living on his own. He figured it had to do with his experience in the marines. Bo hadn't figured this is what Luke would have done with his life, but he found it suited him well. Rather the only one who caught Bo by surprise was Cooter. Cooter had also left Hazzard around the same time as Luke had, deciding to run for congress. Bo was blown away when Cooter was elected. He never once recalled Cooter mentioning any desire to get involved in politics, and while no one ever explained it to him Bo figured it was probably Cooter tired of dealing with a broken system that he had no power to fix.

Everything was changing in Hazzard and it was getting to the point where Bo wasn't sure that when he did return that he would even recognize the place. There were a lot of things he missed. He missed the simple life they had on the farm. He missed driving the General Lee through the back roads and jumping the creek. He missed Rosco and Enos chasing them and Boss Hogg trying to put them in jail. He missed going to the Boar's Nest and getting into the occasional fight. He missed the dirt road races. He missed knowing all the people around him instead of only seeing strangers. He missed Saturday morning breakfast at Cooter's Garage. He missed Luke sitting in the car next to him, Daisy chasing him with a frying pan when she was mad, Jesse scolding them when they worried him. He missed having his family within reach where he could touch them and hug them.

That wasn't to say that Bo wasn't happy though. Bo loved his life and didn't regret the decisions he made. The job was everything he had imagined it being and more. He loved the people he worked with, he loved traveling around and seeing just how small Hazzard County really was. He made sure to work hard and enjoy himself every free moment that he got. Bo knew there was a few growing pains in being on his own. A few times he had turned to Luke to look for an answer to a question only to realize Luke wasn't there and he'd have to figure it out for himself. He had to learn to cook for himself instead of depending on Jesse and Daisy's good cooking skills. He knew he wasn't truly alone either. Each time he called home or either of his cousins they would talk all about how they watched his latest race on the television. Even if they were scattered over the country they were still looking over each other, being a family even from a long distance away.

While Bo did miss how things used to be, he knew they would never be able to go back to it. That was in the past, and the world and people were changing. There was nothing Bo could do about it but change as well. Change wasn't a bad thing, and even though sometimes he was sad for the things that could never be again, he was also happy for what happened and the future he had yet to live.

Bo picked up the phone and dialed the number to the farm, curious to hear who it would be to answer the phone. "Duke farm, Jesse Duke speakin'." Bo grinned.

"Hey Uncle Jesse, it's Bo." Bo said. He pulled the receiver away from his ear as his uncle's loud furious voice came over to his end.

"Bo Duke you ever wait that long to call in again and I'll put you over my knee! You ain't too old for a woopin you hear me!" Jesse yelled, Bo knowing he was only upset because Bo worried him for not calling home in a few weeks. Bo couldn't help but laughing, knowing he was about to get another earful for it. He supposed there were some things what would never change.

 **Hey ya'll, I haven't done a Duke's of Hazzard story in a while. I guess I was feeling a little home sick and I thought Bo Duke would be a good outlet for that. Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy and enjoying things. I got my dream job in my dream location but I guess I'm still not used to having my sister and best friend by my side along with the rest of my siblings. I don't know if I was able to convey that right. Anyway, I don't own anything and I hope ya'll enjoyed it.**


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